That was the sound I was looking for, and he's the one who can deliver it. He's been cutting sides on people since he was 16 years old. ... That Dan Penn! His (1994 solo album) 'Do Right Man' has been in my rotation for 10 years. It never left rotation. It was always on the road with me.

His approach was that we didn't play any of the songs for the band members until they got to the studio. Weeks before that, I went over to Dan's and played songs for him. We talked about which ones he liked, which ones we thought worked for this record. ... He was not the kind of producer who says, 'I need you to do that.' He's the kind of producer who puts his trust in the musicians.

The cop looks annoyed, like we're giving him a headache. I want to explain everything to him that its really not as screwed up as it all sounds, but then I remember that it is.

There are too many things being legislated that should be left up to the DOE.

I guess rock stars are role models for the kids who listen to that music. My role models have all been geologists - you know, the guys who are doing fieldwork until they're 70.

I got interested in palaeontology and vertebrate history - sparked by books on human evolution - then vertebrate evolution. Studying with palaeontologists kindled my interest in fieldwork.